Underwater repeating shotgun

ABSTRACT

An underwater shotgun having a barrel rotatable relative to a firing mechanism. The gun is fired by jabbing it against a target such as a shark. After firing, the firing mechanism is positioned behind a second shell, in the barrel, and the gun is again ready for firing. The gun may be fired, without reloading, up to the number of shells contained within the barrel.

United States Patent 91 in] 3,721,031

Falterman et al. 1March 20, 1973 1 UNDERWATER REPEATING SHOTGUN3,494,060 2/1970 Hendricks ..42 1 L [75] Inventors: Charles W.Falterman, China Lake; gg r iz r g??? $3 f" 1 T.' slaooisss l/l967Belzlzr et 12 21: 3342/1 L e c geces 3,453,763 7/1969 Barr et al. ..42/1L [73] Assignee: The United States of America as represented by theSecretary of the Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Navy AssistantExaminer-C. T. Jordan [22] Filed: Aug 24 1970 Attorney-R. S. Sciasciaand Thomas 0. Watson, Jr.

[2 1 p 66,510 57 ABSTRACT 7 An underwater shotgun having a barrelrotatable rela- [52] US. Cl. ..42/l L i to a firing mechanism The gun ifired b jabbing [51 Ila. Cl. ..F4lc 27/00, F410 l/OO it against a targetsuch as a Shark After firing, the fin Fleld of Search L mechanism ispositioned behind a Second She, i the barrel, and the gun is again readyfor firing. The [56] References cued gun may be fired, withoutreloading, up to the number UNITED STATES PATENTS of shells containedwithin the barrel.

3,545,l l7 12/1970 Van Voorhees ..42/l L 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures M,4 I 30 2/ /9 W 27 .4

PATENTEBMARZO I975 3.721. 031

INVENTORS CHARLES H! FALTE'RMA/V WILL/AM J. GRIFFITH PERRY L. FLETCHERUM a 4/0239).

ATTORNEY UNDERWATER REPEATING SHOTGUN STATEMENT OF GOV ERNMENT INTERESTThe invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to underwaterprotection devices and more particularly to underwater guns for useagainst sharks and other targets.

Under water swimmers have long been plagued by attacking sharks. Forprotection, various systems have been developed, including cage-likeenclosures which are lowered from the surface and repellents which aredispersed in the water. Both of these require that the swimmer remainrelatively stationary and consequently, do not provide adequateprotection to swimmers whose purpose requires a wide ranging mobility.

Underwater shotguns have been developed and used to protect swimmers whocan not be adequately protected by other means. The underwater shotguncurrently in use consists of a 12 gauge shotgun shell on the end of afoot long handle. This gun is large and bulky and is particularlycumbersome to swimmers whose mission requires the transportation ofother equipment. Also, the prior art shotgun is a single shot devicewhich has proven inadequate in the face of multiple or repeated sharkattacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a more compactunderwater gun which is capable of multiple firings. The gun barrel isprovided with a plurality of holes sized according to the caliber ofshells to be used. It has been found, that three shots provide theoptimum configuration. Less than 3 shots are not adequate for swimmerprotection, while more than three shots has the disadvantage ofincreasing the gum size a disproportionate amount. Provision is alsomade for the use of a collapsible handle when size is a major factor.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is theprovision of an effective protection device for underwater swimmers.

Another object is to provide an underwater shotgun for use by underwaterswimmers.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a multi-shotunderwater shotgun.

Still another object is to provide an underwater shotgun with increasedcapabilities which may be collapsible for easy transportation.

These and other objects and advantages as well as the exact nature ofthis invention will be readily apparent from consideration of thefollowing specification relating the annexed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cutaway of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial cutaway of another preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1, whichillustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention, shows a gunbarrel 11 partially contained within a barrel retaining breech 12. Thebarrel 11 is maintained within the breech 12 by the action of a barrelretaining nut 13 on a shoulder 14 of the gun barrel 11. The barrel 11has three shell containing bores 16 (see FIG. 2). The shells 17 withinthe bores 16 (one shown) may be of any conventional shotgun gauge as thegauge of the shell 17 is solely dependent on the diameter of the barrelbore 16. Experiments have indicated that a .410 gauge shell with anincrease in powder charge of 30 percent is as effective as the standard12 gauge shell employed in the prior art devices. The use of such ashell allows a decrease in shotgun size without an attendant decrease inshotgun effectiveness.

Located within the rear portion of the breech 12 is a firing pin member19. The firing pin 19 is biased away from the shell 17 by a firing pinspring 20. The action of the firing pin spring 20 is limited by a firingpin retainer 21. A passageway 23 is provided in the barrel breech 12 forthe firing pin 19 to contact the shell 17.

The firing pin 19 is brought into contact with the shell 17 by jabbingthe front face of the barrel 11 against the target. This front face isprovided with nonslip points 24 to insure a positive contact between thebarrel front face and the target. After the shell 17 has been fired, thebarrel 11 is rotated to bring a second shell located in another of thebarrel bores 16, into an operative position. As shown, the shark shotgunprovides for 3 shots before reloading. It has been found that less than3 shots in not adequate for swimmer protection while more than 3 shotshas the disadvantage of increasing the shotgun size above an optimumlevel. The set-screw spacer member 25 is provided to maintain the properalignment between the barrel 11 and the breech l2.

Contained within the extending portion 27 of the firing pin member 19 isa safety pin 28. Attached at one end of the safety pin 28 is a safetypin pull ring 29. With the safety pin 28 in place, as shown, the firingpin 19 is prevented from contacting the shell 17. Removal of the safetypin 28 is accomplished by pulling on the pull ring 29. With the safetypin 28 removed, the shotgun is ready for tiring and may be fired byjabbing it against a target such as a shark. The threads 30 on theextending portion 27 of the firing pin 19 are used to engage a handle(not shown). If desired, the handle may be made collapsible by anyconventional practice consistant with the requirement that it be rigidwhen the shotgun is used.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a second embodimentemploying the concept of the present invention. In this embodiment,functionally similar elements have been designated by identicalreference numerals. For ease in loading, the barrel retaining breech 12of FIG. 1 has been divided into a barrel retainer 40 and a breech 41.The barrel retainer 40 and breech 41 are pivotedly connected by a hingelike member 42. A breech lock 43 maintains the breech assembly in aclosed position for firing and allows easy access to the barrel 11 forreloading. The barrel 11 is keyed within the barrel retainer 40 toprevent relative rotation while allowing an axial displacement. Aretaining nut 13 acts upon a barrel shoulder 14 to maintain the barrel11 within the barrel retainer 40.

A coiled breech spring 45 biases the barrel 11 away from the breech 41.Located within the coils of the breech spring 45 is a firing pin disc46. The firing pin disc 46 is mounted upon a shaft 47 which isoperatively connected to a rod 48 by means of a pin 49. An outer rod 51,sliding tube 52, and spline shaft 53 are concentrically arranged withthe rod 48 by means of the bushings 55, outer sleeve telescoping handlecollet 56 and sliding tube telescoping handle collet 57. Thisarrangement allows the concentric elements to telescope relative to eachother. A sliding key 58 is provided in the outer rod 51 to maintainengagement of the concentric elements in the telescoped position.

The square spline shaft 53 engages a handle revolving firing discpositioner 60 by a pin 61. A stationary firing pin positioner 62 allowsfor a hand hold while rotating the handle 60. Rotation of the handle 60relative to the stationary firing disc positioner 62 causes the firingpin disc 46 to rotate thus positioning the firing mechanism behind asecond of the barrel bores 16.

The shotgun of FIG. 3, is transported in a collapsed mode. To use, thetelescoping rod and shaft are extended and locked in place by thecollets 56 and 57. Firing is accomplished by jabbing the front face ofthe barrel against a target causing the barrel to move against thefiring pin disc 46 against the action of the breech spring 45. The frontface of the barrel 11 is provided with non-slip points 24 to insure apositive contact with the target.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in light of the above teachings. It is therefor to beunderstood that, withing the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. An underwater repeating shotgun which comprises:

a barrel having at least two shell containing bores;

a firing mechanism positioned behind the barrel;

said firing mechanism being rotatable relative to said barrel such thatthe firing mechanism may be al- 2. The underwater repeating shotgun ofclaim 1 wherein the mounting means comprises a barrel retainer and abreech, and said barrel is keyed to said retainer.

3. The underwater repeating shotgun of claim 2 wherein the barrelretainer and breech are pivotally connected and a breech lock maintainsthe barrel retainer and breech in a closed position for firing.

4. The underwater repeating shotgun of claim 2 wherein the barrel isspring biased away from said firing mechanism and movable, against theaction of said spring, into a position allowing contact between a shellwithin said barrel and said firing mechanism.

5 The underwater repeating shotgun of claim 4 further including acollapsible handle comprised of a plurality of telescoping rods andsleeves and a spline shaft means within said handle for rotating thefiring mechanism relative to said barrel.

6. The underwater repeating shotgun of claim 5 further including meanson the end of said handle away from said barrel, said means beingconnected to said spline shaft for rotation thereof.

7. An underwater repeating shotgun comprising:

a gun barrel having at least two bores therein;

an annular shoulder on one end of said gun barrel;

said shoulder on one end of said gun barrel;

said shoulder being mounted within a barrel retaining breech;

barrel retaining nut means cooperating with said breech for allowingrotation of said barrel and permanently preventing longitudinaldisplacement of said barrel when said annular shoulder is mounted withinsaid breech; and

a firing mechanism spring biased away from said barrel and movable,against the action of said spring, into contact with a shell within saidbarrel.

t t I

1. An underwater repeating shotgun which comprises: a barrel having atleast two shell containing bores; a firing mechanism positioned behindthe barrel; said firing mechanism being rotatable relative to saidbarrel such that the firing mechanism may be alternately positionedbehind any of said shell containing bores; and said barrel having alongitudinal axis and being attached to said firing mechanism by amounting means, said mounting means allowing longitudinal movement ofsaid barrel but permanently preventing rotation of the barrel about itslongitudinal axis.
 2. The underwater repeating shotgun of claim 1wherein the mounting means comprises a barrel retainer and a breech, andsaid barrel is keyed to said retainer.
 3. The underwater repeatingshotgun of claim 2 wherein the barrel retainer and breech are pivotallyconnected and a breech lock maintains the barrel retainer and breech ina closed position for firing.
 4. The underwater repeating shotgun ofclaim 2 wherein the barrel is spring biased away from said firingmechanism and movable, against the action of said spring, into aposition allowing contact between a shell within said barrel and saidfiring mechanism.
 5. The underwater repeating shotgun of claim 4 furtherincluding a collapsible handle comprised of a plurality of telescopingrods and sleeves and a spline shaft means within said handle forrotating the firing mechanism relative to said barrel.
 6. The underwaterrepeating shotgun of claim 5 further including means on the end of saidhandle away from said barrel, said means being connected to said splineshaft for rotation thereof.
 7. An underwater repeating shotguncomprising: a gun barrel having at least two bores therein; an annularshoulder on one end of said gun barrel; said shoulder on one end of saidgun barrel; said shoulder being mounted within a barrel retainingbreech; barrel retaining nut means cooperating with said breech forallowing rotation of said barrel and permanently preventing longitudinaldisplacement of said barrel when said annular shoulder is mounted withinsaid breech; and a firing mechanism spring biased away from said barreland movable, against the action of said spring, into contact with ashell within said barrel.